GLENDALE, AZ - SEPTEMBER 11: Sunday Night Football commentator Mike Tirico talks with Robert Kraft owner of the New England Patriots prior to the NFL game against the Arizona Cardinals at University of Phoenix Stadium on September 11, 2016 in Glendale, Arizona. (Photo by Norm Hall/Getty Images) less

GLENDALE, AZ - SEPTEMBER 11: Sunday Night Football commentator Mike Tirico talks with Robert Kraft owner of the New England Patriots prior to the NFL game against the Arizona Cardinals at University of Phoenix ... more

Photo: Norm Hall / Getty Images

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Cris Collinsworth, NBC Sports Sunday Night Football announcer, looks on from the sideline before a game between the Kansas City Chiefs and Pittsburgh Steelers at Heinz Field on October 2, 2016 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The Steelers defeated the Chiefs 43-14. (Photo by George Gojkovich/Getty Images) less

Cris Collinsworth, NBC Sports Sunday Night Football announcer, looks on from the sideline before a game between the Kansas City Chiefs and Pittsburgh Steelers at Heinz Field on October 2, 2016 in Pittsburgh, ... more

Photo: George Gojkovich/Getty Images / Getty Images

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GREEN BAY, WI - NOVEMBER 06: Aaron Rodgers #12 of the Green Bay Packers runs for a first down in the 4th quarter against the Indianapolis Colts at Lambeau Field on November 6, 2016 in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Colts defeated the Packers 31-26. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images) less

GREEN BAY, WI - NOVEMBER 06: Aaron Rodgers #12 of the Green Bay Packers runs for a first down in the 4th quarter against the Indianapolis Colts at Lambeau Field on November 6, 2016 in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The ... more

Photo: Jonathan Daniel / Getty Images

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NBC Sports’ ‘Sunday Night Football’ earns No. 1 spot again

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STAMFORD — NBC Sports Group’s “Sunday Night Football” finished the 2016-17 TV season as the No. 1 prime-time show for a record sixth-straight year, according to data released this week by NBC.

“Sunday Night Football” averaged 20.3 million viewers, a performance that powered the show to first place in several categories, including the top spot in the 18-49-year-old viewer group for the seventh-straight season. The data come from The Nielsen Co.

Since 1950, “American Idol” is the only other prime-time show that has ranked first for six straight years. “The Cosby Show” and “All in the Family” both finished No. 1 for five straight years, while “Gunsmoke” took the top ranking for four consecutive years.

Since the beginning of the 2011-12 season, only nine prime-time shows with a minimum of 10 telecasts have averaged more than 20 million viewers. All were shown on NBC, with those programs including “Sunday Night Football” six times, the 2012 London Summer Olympics, the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics and the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Summer Olympics.

Another NBC program, “Thursday Night Football,” ranked No. 2 in prime-time in the past season, with an average of 17 million viewers, followed by three CBS programs.

The “total audience delivery” for the 2016 Sunday night football season amounted to 20.5 million viewers. The category measures consumption by calculating average minute viewing across broadcast, cable, and digital platforms.

NBC’s NFL programming accounted for 13 of the 25 prime-time telecasts between Sept. 8, 2016 and May 23, 2017 that averaged at least 20 million viewers. Other programs that attracted more than 20 million viewers included the baseball World Series, college football national championship game, men’s college basketball national championship game, the Academy Awards, Golden Globes, Grammy Awards and “60 Minutes.”

While “Sunday Night Football” maintained prime-time’s No. 1 position, it saw its audience decline in the past year. Its 2016 average trailed by some 10 percent the program’s equivalent total of about 22.5 million viewers in the 2015 season.

The slide reflected an overall decrease in NFL viewership in the past season. The 2016 regular season averaged nearly 16.5 million viewers who watched games live or used “time-shifting” technology such as DVR within the same day. In comparison, the 2015 regular season recorded an average of about 17.9 million viewers.

“We’re bullish on the strength of the NFL, but we’re not complacent,” said NBC Sports Group Chairman Mark Lazarus said earlier this year. “We know that we have to continue to monitor the consumer behavior.”

NBC Sports Group is headquartered on a 33-acre campus on Blachley Road in Stamford’s East Side.